directly the moment he was spotted. Under no circumstances were
they to hit Kanno. If he was spotted, they were instructed to keep
him under surveillance and not to get too close. And now there was
this meeting with Fugisawa this evening. It was all becoming clear.
His father had cut another deal with Fugisawa. He would help
the authorities find Kanno and take the credit for his capture. In
return, they would give him credit for assisting them and
discovering the identity of the killer. The favorable publicity he
would receive as a result would make him look good and would
impress his superiors on the council. Instead of losing face, he
would come out of the whole thing with his stature in the
organization greatly enhanced. And the arrangement Shiro had
made with Nishikawa would all come to nothing. He could simply
kiss all that money good-bye.
The one slim hope he’d had that Morpheus would exact
retribution for the attempt upon his life was also fading. Fugisawa
was apparently in contact with him and when he’d called, Shiro
heard his father telling him, almost pleading with him to convince
Morpheus that he’d had nothing to do with the attempt to kill him.
He claimed that it had all been a mistake, that the men had acted
on their own, and that he would do anything he could to make it
right. And the meeting tonight was part of that. Morpheus would
be there, along with Fugisawa. Shiro was certain that he knew
exactly what would happen.
His father would pay Morpheus off. Morpheus would leave Japan.
Then, with him out of the way, his father and Fugisawa would
work together to bring Kanno in. Shiro swore softly to himself.
That damned cop should have been a Yakuza himself. He was a
diabolical manipulator. The Yakuza would do his work for him in
return for Fugisawa’s helping his father to save face with the
members of the council. Kanno would be caught, Fugisawa would
show up the Bureau and get a big promotion. Damn him!
But there was still one chance. One chance to save his deal with
Nishikawa. He glanced at the table. There was a black leather
briefcase on it, his father’s briefcase, monogrammed with his
initials. Shiro had filled it with papers giving details of Yakuza
criminal operations his father was in charge of. He had taken a big